Nato in Afghanistan Essay Example for Free

Nato in Afghanistan Essay NATO’s (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) continued presence in Afghanistan will continue to foster the development of democratization, human rights and development, while effectively eliminating the Taliban from the region. The rise of the Taliban occured when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, during the Cold War. The Soviets came into Afghanistan looking to expand their Communist empire. As a result of this Communist expansion in Afghanistan, the USA decided to take counter action against the Soviets, their Cold War enemy, by funding an opposition party. This opposition, called the Mujahedeen, was a religious group with the objective to fight off the change in their cultural country. When the Mujahedeen (now known as the Taliban) drove the Soviets out of Afghanistan, there was the opportunity for a group to take power in the country since the former government had been brought down. As the Taliban had the money and power, they took the opportunity to take control in the country. The Soviet Invasion had made such horrific living conditions to live in, that Afghanistan was known to be the top migrating country at the time. There were 5-10 million Afghans that fled to Iran and Pakistan to seek refuge, with an outstanding 670,000 to 2 million killed. The largest city Kabul, went from a mid-large population of 200,000 people to less than 25,000 people- followed by a month-long campaign of carpet combing and bulldozing by the Soviets and Afghan communist soldiers in 1987. The horror did not just end after the Soviets fled. Today there are an estimated 10-15 million landmines left scattered across the country side, some of which are still active today. It is estimated to take 4,300 years to remove all the land mines that were placed during the Soviet Invasion in Afghanistan, leaving the country as a current dangerous battle zone. When the Soviets left Afghanistan in 1989, Afghanistan was in a very bad position. All that was left was an almost empty government system, an armed terrorist group with high power, and a lack of resource development. During the Taliban rule (from 1989), young Afghan women were shot for attending school, assaulted for not wearing a burqa, and spat on by the ruling class. Although the USA had funded the Taliban during the Soviet Invasion, the outbreak by the Taliban has resulted in NATO choosing to step forward to spread fair a democracy in a needing nation. The current mission that NATO has in Afghanistan is a guide and structure build for developing a strong secular government system- rather than what some Afghan Taliban may refer to it as, â€Å"a destruction of Afghan sovereignty. † The Taliban, or as they call themselves, â€Å"The Warriors and Protectors of Islam,† want to keep Afghanistan as a traditional and pure country with no outside influences such as NATO. Harsh punishments from the Taliban are more often set on Afghan citizens to create bigger scare and public awareness, showing they have no tolerance for broken set rules (their rules that they bring into extremity from the Quran). Having a westernized organization like NATO in Afghanistan upsets the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Although Al Qaeda and the Taliban are different groups, this is an occasion where Al Qaeda and the Taliban agreed to fight together. The Taliban originally did not accept the Arabian group Al Qaeda to set up a base in Afghanistan, but these two different groups both had a common agreement on the abolishment of westernized influences. During this war against the USA, former leader of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, allied with the Taliban for a Jihad, which according to author Gohari, means, â€Å"A holy war against the Americans who are occupying the land of the two shrines,† and states that a US war on his country, Saudi Arabia, would soon cause an alliance of Muslims to be a US war on Muslims all over the globe. Now, the war has parted into two sides: the USA as part of NATO, versus the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Now one may be wondering what exactly drives the Taliban to act as they do, and the reason is their perspective on religion (Islam). They control governance very similar to a right wing, fascist party. There is a huge reliance on using the religion of Islam to maintain control of society, frequently taken to the extremity, and often at the expense and contradiction of Islamic thought, theory and belief. The Taliban were the elites of Afghanistan before NATO came in and controlled governance, punishing those who choose to disobey their rules and ideologies. The Afghans lived under the Taliban rule in Afghanistan long before the Soviets even fled. It is important to note that the Taliban is an embodiment of a male Afghan mindset, a force that has extreme traditional and religious views. Thus, all individuals with these extreme views are essentially having the same viewpoints of the Taliban. To author Fereshta, â€Å"The Taliban rule is the reason my grandmother cannot read. She explains that the reason behind her grandmother’s illiteracy was the extreme traditional mindset from men several years ago, that affected the treatment of women. During the ruling, as a force, the Taliban were able to strip women of even their basic rights, beyond just their education. Some examples of rules the Taliban have in place (the Taliban still control some sections of Afghanistan) include; pun ishments for: women walking in the street without a blood relative, women speaking loudly in public allowing strangers to hear their voice, and even the presence of a woman in the media. Men as well have been punished. It was almost essential to be purely part of the Islamic faith or they would face consequences. The Taliban has harsh rules set on women in particular, reasoning some support this NATO mission to take out this strongly fascist-like force. This is why NATO’s mission in Afghanistan is to create a secular government- where religion does not in any way affect the laws and rules of its citizens, and in the process destroying Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Evidently, it is vital for NATO to stay in Afghanistan. Without NATO’s involvement, the Taliban would re-establish their power within the first 24 hours of NATO’s leave. It is important to understand that it isn’t the strength of the twenty thousand Taliban in Afghanistan that is the problem, but it is the extremely weak ninety thousand Afghanistan military set to effectively fight terrorism off. In order to permanently stop the Taliban ruling in Afghanistan, the members of NATO need to put in effective effort into the mission, rather than planning to pull out an simply fund money. It is much more beneficial for the country of Afghanistan to have a strong NATO leader with them to assist and fully physically train its military, rather than NATO partially assisting and only providing temporary services. The foreign policies for members of NATO should not be to withdraw troops and make plans to leave by 2014, but to be efficient by deploying experienced troops and commanders, allowing the Afghan military to be better trained. The Afghanistan military knows that NATO is there to train them, and if NATO decides  to start taking away troops, then all efforts already placed to the Afghan military will go to waste as Afghan military cannot yet sustain itself. Members of NATO must be active in Afghanistan and remain dedicated in order to fully build the developed future of Afghanistan. It is also suggested that NATO controls Afghan cities and roads connecting them, to reduce the number of coalition troops who are killed by road side bombs, making the mission more efficient. NATO also needs to work on the control of the opium exports from Afghanistan. About 60% of the world’s illegal opium imports come from Afghanistan, allowing the Taliban to tax local farmers on these exports, resulting in illegally attained money from the black market. With NATO’s mission in place, a structure of democracy is slowly being built. They are interning the economic structure of Afghanistan by the creation of a free market, a boost in the economy, a structure of authority, and a major incline in social qualities (freedom of press and religion). The International Security Assistance force (ISAF) is also a force working in Afghanistan which along with NATO has passed several stages of the mission. In fact, NATO has taken the Taliban out of power, significantly helped the country with its increase in national security, education and healthcare, and has also assisted with the increase in media and free press, rising to seventy five TV stations and one million internet users. By allowing the people of Afghanistan to have a democratic voice and opinion, they can prevent a small group such as the Taliban from ruling the streets again. NATO’s disrespectful behaviour has also been another issue in Afghanistan. Many of the Afghan people are not pleased with NATO’s conducts. It is argued by some that NATO’s conduct hogs land, blocks roads, allows them to mistreat prisoners, and causes the deaths of innocent civilians. However, dealing with civilians is not easy for NATO. Distinguishing who is an ally, and who is in an enemy is not easy when fighting an intelligent group like the Taliban, who employ guerrilla warfare. This results in blame towards NATO for having detrimental behavior, and mistreating innocent civilians thought to be in disguise. However, NATO’s justification is that there have been 50+ cases of troops being killed by who appeared to be their own colleagues disguised in Afghan Army clothing, but were actually secret Taliban members. NATO states that  there have been several casualties during this mission, a lot of which NATO blames civilians for not following conduct rules and disobeying them for their safety. However, Afghan people still do have a valid reason to disrespect NATO soldiers. It would upset any Afghan knowing troops have been taking pictures of themselves posing beside dead Taliban fighters, and hearing reports that talk about soldiers urinating on dead corpses. If NATO wants to successfully complete its mission, then they need its members and soldiers to fully commit to the cause without disorderly conduct. It is important for NATO members to stay in Afghanistan right now in order to fully complete their mission, rather than pulling out in 2014. Afghanistan is now governed by a democratic government, which still needs more development in national security in order to sustain itself. Having NATO stay a few years more will insure the Afghanistan military and government can maintain their position, resulting in a socially and economically developing country. It is not just western influences that NATO is trying to place in Afghanistan. NATO is there taking out the Mujahedeen to create a stable economy, a democratic government system and an end to the ‘Religious Fascism’ currently controlling Afghanistan. In our modern day society, for a country to be stable, they must develop those three factors; a stable economy, a secure democratic government system, and a society where citizens can make their own choices. Having an organization like NATO in Afghanistan, will allow them to develop in areas they need in order to be a successful country. Works Cited FERESHTA. The Globe and Mail.   The Globe and Mail. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. lt;http://www. theglobeandmail. com/commentary/who-are-the-taliban/article4188069/gt;. Gilles, Dorronsoro. Who Are the Taliban? -Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.   Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. N. p. , 22 Oct. 2009. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. lt;http://www. carnegieendowment. org/2009/10/22/who-are-taliban/161gt;. Gohari, M. J. The Taliban: Ascent to Power. Karachi: Oxford UP, 2000. Print. Herda, D. J. The Afghan Rebels: The War in Afghanistan. New York: F. Watts, 1990. Print. NATO and Afghanistan Questions and Answers. NATO Public Diplomacy Division, n. d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. lt;http://www. nato. int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_publications/NATO_and_Afgh_LR_en. pdfgt;. NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan.   Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Jan. 2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. lt;http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/NATO_Training_Mission-Afghanistangt;. Ruth, Fremson. Taliban.    The New York Times. N. p. , 02 Nov. 2012. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. lt;http://topics. nytimes. com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/t/taliban/index. htmlgt;. Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (1979).   Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n. d. Web. 03 Nov. 2012. lt;http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/1499983/Soviet-invasion-of-Afghanistangt;. Usman, Sharifi. AFP: Two NATO Troops Killed in Afghan Insider Attack.   Google News. N. p. , n. d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. lt;http://www. google. om/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i8SCT8_4WAeAYPgTp71tdQGSc9jg? docId=CNG. 6d1f4bcbd63425ddcfc84f92f4377f7d. 71gt;. Two Arguments for What to Do in Afghanistan TIME. Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews TIME. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 2 Jan. 2013. lt;http://www. time. com/time/magazine/arti [ 1 ]. Soviet war in Afghanistan† Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ 2 ]. Soviet war in Afghanistan† Wikipedia , the free encyclopedia. [ 3 ]. Soviet war in Afghanistan† Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 4 ]. D. J. Herda The Afghan Rebels: The War in Afghanistan. New York: F. Watts, 1990. P. 47-59. Print. [ 5 ]. Sami, Ron Moreau, Yousafzai. Afghanistans Taliban Wish Al Qaeda Would Go Away.   The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 13 Aug. 2012. Web. 02 Jan. 2013. [ 6 ]. M. J Gohari, the Taliban: Ascent to Power. Karachi: Oxford UP, 2000. P. 73-81. Print. [ 7 ]. FERESHTA. Who are the Taliban  The Globe and Mail. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. . [ 8 ]. Two Arguments for What to Do in Afghanistan TIME.   Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News

Who Tamed Fire First? Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Who Tamed Fire First? The farther back in time we explore, the more room there seems to be for discrepancy among various theories regarding the history of the earth. One of the many disputed aspects of history concerns the nature of the relationship between humans and the environment. This paper will focus on the debate of the origin of first tamed fire. Was it Homo erectus or Homo sapiens? The widely accepted big bang theory of evolution "paints Homo erectus as no more than a smart ape," (McCrone, New Scientist, May 20, 2000, 31) with a, "15-minute culture," (McCrone, 34) incapable of manipulating his surrounding environment. Though even if we were to believe he was physically capable of accomplishing this act, McCrone explains, "controlling fire simply seemed too intellectually sophisticated a feat for this creature," who were, "primitive toolmakers, and showed no signs of symbolic thinking over the next million or more years of their existence," (McCrone, 31). Under this theory, any remains of fires from his time are written off as bush fires, lightning strikes, and other such naturally induced occurrences. It is not until Homo sapiens comes along that humans are considered to have begun to "master" their environment. A recent, more scientifically based analysis of ancient Chinese fires supports this same stance that Homo erectus was not the first to tame fire. The geological analysis took place at the Zhoukoudian site in China, where an opposing theory marks the first controlled fire at 500,000 years ago by Homo erectus' hands, (Wuethrich, Science Magazine, July 10, 1998). Though they confirmed recovering burnt bones from the site, there was no solid evidence to suggest the controlled use of fire, such as hearths,... ...order in our world. It gives us a past, present and future. Time also offers us a sense of perspective, so that we can make insights and connections, decide what is true and what is false, what is valuable and what is inconsequential. In this regard, the debate over the time and origin of the first tamed fire is an effective illustration of the ways in which time affects our perception of human kind and its relationship with the environment. Which theory of origin we ultimately choose to believe is particularly significant in that it gives insight into the way in which we view ourselves in relation to our past. Sources Cited: "Did Homo Erectus Tame Fire First?" Balter, Michael. Science. June 16, 1995. "Fired Up." McCrone, John. New Scientist, May 20, 2000. "Geological Analysis Damps Ancient Chinese Fires." Wuethrich, Bernice. Science Magazine, July 10, 1998.

Consider the importance of Curley’s Wife Essay

   She seems to believe that the man sent her a letter, and that her mother ripped it up, so she left home and, out of spite, married Curley. Even thought she never received the letter, she still clings on to the tiny bit of hope that one day she will be in the movies. Unfortunately, she dies before she has the chance to fulfill her dream, just as Lennie does. This represents and shows the reader how lives never go to plan. Their dreams are wishes for untarnished happiness and the freedom to fulfill their dreams is non-existant. As well as being important in the story, she also has some distinct unimportance. In the novel, she is never given her own name; she has the title of Curleys Wife and is looked upon as his property. It is as if she has no human rights. Whilst everyone else on the ranch has a name, including Crooks the stable buck, she is just defined as the wife of a man she hates. She tells Lennie that, â€Å"he ain’t a nice fella. † She doesn’t like being locked up in the house, and ends up having to sneak around so Curley doesn’t catch her. She also seems insignificant in comparison to the other characters, as she has no specific job on the ranch. She seems to have a lot of time on her hands, because she is heavily made up, and her hair seems to be perfect each time she appears. She fills her time in this way. She also wanders the ranch constantly claiming that she’s â€Å"looking for Curley. † This is because otherwise she is always in the house or hiding from Curley. For example, in Chapter One, when Lennie and George have first arrived, she is stood at the doorway asking for Curley, and after she has left, Curley arrives and asks if anyone has seen his wife. This proves that she is always hiding from Curley, and he is always keeping a watchful eye on her. When she dies, and is lying in the hay, Curleys intentions seem to be just to get revenge, nobody mourns her death. Only Slim has the decency to â€Å"touch her cheek,† and check her pulse under her â€Å"slightly twisted neck. † Curley jumps up and immediately says, â€Å"I know who done it. † His only thought is to kill Lennie. Ever since Lennie crushed Curleys hand he’s been planning revenge, and now he has the perfect reason. Nobody stops to mourn a young, unfortunate, nai ve girl’s death. Even though she has been at the ranch for only two weeks, she seems to already have gathered a reputation of a tart. George generally seems to regard all women as â€Å"jailbait† but knows that there’s â€Å"gonna be a mess ’bout her. † Of course, he is right. The other men on the ranch also think she’s a tart, and Whit thinks that Curleys wife has â€Å"got the eye goin’ all the time,† and Candy also says that â€Å"She got the eye. † Neither of these comments are factual, but they give you a bad impression of Curleys wife. When Curleys Wife first appears, her â€Å"hair is in curls†, she has â€Å"rouged lips†, and is wearing â€Å"red fluffy mules. † She is wearing a lot of red and this usually represents prostitution. When she has left after flaunting her body, George remarks, â€Å"Jesus! What a tramp! † Whit also says â€Å"she ain’t concealing nothing. † She could be more modest but she just wants male attention and the only way she can do this is by showing off her body. Although the main impression of Curleys Wife is that of a tart, there are many qualities that make you feel pity for her. She isn’t bright, and has an isolated life in her house, trying to hide from Curley. She says, â€Å"I don’ like Curley,† and clearly regrets marrying him. When describing her dream, she uses â€Å"I coulda,† and not â€Å"I will. † The girl has no hope and believes her life will be living on the ranch, doing nothing but hiding from Curley. She is also very nai ve, in the last Chapter, when Lennie kills her, she is led in the hay and is described as â€Å"pretty†, â€Å"sweet†, and â€Å"young†. All of these characteristics are those of an innocent girl, the young woman Curleys Wife really was. Curley only wants revenge for her death, Slim is the only person who checks her pulse, and even tells Curley to stay behind, but revenge is all Curley wants. Even Candy curses over her dead body, he says, â€Å"you god-damn tramp† and claims that she ruined his dream of owning the ranch with George and Lennie. Candy blames Curleys Wife, who was really just a lonely girl, and needed someone to talk too. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.

Immigration and Immigrants in America Essay - 1385 Words

Immigration and Immigrants in America Most Americans place their pride in being apart of a country where a man can start at the bottom and work his way to the top. We also stress the fact that we are â€Å"all created equal† with â€Å"certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.† (Jefferson 45) During the early 1900s white Americans picked and chose who they saw fit to live in America and become an American. â€Å"Those that separate the desirable from the undesirable citizen or neighbor are individual rather than race.† (Abbott 307) In the 1900s the desired immigrant was one who spoke English and practiced customs who were similar to ours. Whereas an undesirable was one whose â€Å"customs he†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"An estimated 150,000 undocumented Mexican immigrants enter the United States each year. Their labor--in Florida orange groves, Georgia onion fields, Las Vegas hotels and Oregon nurseries-has filled growth in many parts of the American economy.† (Thompson A8) Even with all of their contributions they still have to sneak into America through isolated desert areas where they die by the hundreds each year from exposure to heat or cold. Two proposals have been written regarding Mexican migrant workers. Both would increase the number of guest workers; However one would allow immigrants with a certain number of years of agricultural service to apply for legal residency, while the other one will not allow the migrant workers to apply for residency nor does it call for any amnesty. But if you are a Canadian citizen coming into America you could past the borders with no problems. Why is that you ask? Mostly because Canadians do not want to come to America and live they are contempt with their own Country. 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